Jeff Kleiser, who had already been involved in bringing a character to life using digital technology, formed a partnership with Diana Walczak, a classically trained artist with sculpting skills. The company, called Kleiser-Walczak Construction Company, was formed to create computer animation of the human figure for entertainment purposes. Their work has also involved new and imaginative visual effects and ground-breaking advances in animation for films, venue attractions, television, advertising and interactive projects.
The first synthetic actor they made was Nestor Sextone. He was composed of individually sculpted body parts with metal armature. The parts inter-penetrated for smoothness. Larry Weinberg wrote software to enable linking of the digitized facial expressions of face sculptures to portray speech and emotion.
the next Project was “Don’t Touch Me” a music video with their first female synthespian “Dozo”
Software was used which allowed flexing of simple joints like knees and elbows. For facial expressions they still used software linking digitized facial expressions of sculpted faces.
As part of a theme park trilogy, In Search of the Obelisk, they created the illusion of glass synthespians dancing on a beach, that hovered over the audience.
In Judge Dredd digital stunt doubles were used to solve technical problems, as they had to appear to ride flying motor bicycles. since there were no close-ups of the faces cyberscans were used. Diana Walczak was fixed with magnetic trackers and wobbled on a gimbaled motorbike in sync to a previous playback. the motion was applied to photoreal synthetic versions of Stallone and Schneider.
In X-Men, the shape shifter Mystique was created using a combination of live photography and computer graphics. They designed a technique that would cause a dimensional change starting at various locations, spreading around the body with 3d scales bursting through the surface and settling down like a shaking dog’s coat.
In The One a computer graphic face replacement solution was required. A face mask of Jet Li, fitted with retro-reflective witness points was made for the stunt double. A camera was fitted with a fluorescent, circular light around the lens to show up the markers on the film. Computer graphic faces of Jet could then be accurately positioned in each frame of the film when the stuntman was viewed.
Animators, using keyframe techniques, were used in The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man. This is a virtual reality adventure incorporated into a ride moving past 13 large reflective screens showing stereoscopic 3D films for the theme park in Orlando. Modern advances in technology has meant that hair and materials are much more realistic.
Another computer animated stereoscopic ride made was The Corkscrew Hill . they again used keyframe animation in preference to motion capture and cyberscans as they thought it looked more believable.
Little Miss Spider:Lost and Found a computer animated short film has been in many film festivals.
The company has provided effects and synthespians for the Exorcist, The Fantastic Four and further X-Men films.
The company was also responsible for creating the model of Ramona , the first live virtual and recording artist.
Because we spend so much time looking at other peoples faces it is very easy to spot even a tiny flaw in a facial animation with its very complex muscle system. So although software is continually being developed, it is a difficult task to create a believable synthespian. The work of Kleiser-Walczak has made a considerable contribution to this work.
“Crazy Talk” a software program whereby a digital photograph can be animated to talk uses the face mapping technique that was originally used with the mask in “The One”.
Innovators
Kleiser and Walcczak were definitely innovators in the area of bringing a created 3d human character to life on screen. They were always trying fresh ideas and looking for solutions to problems. Dozo had movement in simple joints like elbows and knees.
Magnetic trackers were used to track a live person movement on a motorbike in Judge Dredd and digital stunt doubles applied. This innovation has opened a whole new concept in stunt possibilities in filming.
In mystique they designed a technique that would cause a dimensional change at different locations on the body rather than the fade out fade in transformations that had previously been used. For a shape shifter this was a new innovation.
They used a face mask in a face mapping technique for graphic face replacement, another new innovation.
Kleiser-Walczak has also received awards for its exciting and original effects in many films and themed rides.
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